During the past month the world has been horrified by the devastation in Ukraine and inspired by the courage of its people. Recently, the tide seems to have turned in Ukraine’s favor after giving the Russian troops a bloody nose. Interestingly, the Putin government has scaled back from Kyiv, the capital, to what Moscow calls the contested region of Domas. -more-

The media says all the Democrats will hold together to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, but I’ll breathe easier after the full Senate vote is over. The Republicans stooped to a new level of ugliness this week with lots of grandstanding which has been described as a test for which issues(really attacks and outrage) will work best at getting out their base to vote.

At the bottom of much of this is race: racism and resentment that a Black woman could be superbly qualified, obviously better qualified than the pathetic show of Republican inquisitors vying for soundbites. But what is the cost of this ginned-up outrage, not just to Ketanji Brown Jackson, but to the country?

Barbara F. Walter, in her book How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them, tells us generating outrage is not benign and social media is an accelerant in creating instability. She notes the global shift away from democracy has tracked with the expansion of the internet and social media. Social media platforms have opened up unmitigated, unregulated pathways to spread misinformation (erroneous), disinformation (deliberately misleading), conspiracy theories, trolls, bots, and demagogues, and to give anti-democratic agents a place to gain traction.

The social media platforms’ business model to make money is to keep people engaged, and what gets the most likes and engagement is fear over calm, falsehood over truth, outrage over empathy and the more incendiary the more traction. -more-

Slack Facts

On March 21, the Chronicle reported on a fire that engulfed several structures at the Tiny House enclave near Oakland's Lake Merritt. The Chronicle's coverage included a sentence that announced: "the cause is presumed to be undetermined." Which, I suppose, is another way of saying, "I'm guessing we just don't know."

Is Reich Running for Real?

My daily email flood is forever clotted with surveys—"Support this?" "Back that?" "Sign on?" (All leading to: "Donate here!") But one recent e-missive from "Equality Democrats" caught my eye. The message read: "Should Robert Reich run for office? Yes, No, Unsure."

The announcement praised former Clinton-era Labor Secretary and current UCB Prof. Reich for "fighting on the frontlines of progressive issues for DECADES" and claimed that "some experts are floating the idea of Robert Reich running for office! They're saying he can REALLY win!"

The only thing they aren't saying (if this email is to be believed) is what office he might be running for. California already has a strong senate team. But, say if Dianne Feinstein were to retire—would Reich rise to the occasion?

Near as I can tell, UC's most progressive professor/activist/polemicist/cartoonist has only run for public office once, in 2002, when he vied to become the Democratic governor of Massachusetts. (The party eventually chose former Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien to run for the office and she eventually lost to Republican Mitt Romney.) -more-

The final day of confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson concluded on March 24. A vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for April 4. Then it goes to the full Senate for a vote. Considering that Judge Jackson has extraordinary qualifications and the American Bar Association has rated her as "well qualified" -- its highest rating, she should be confirmed.

After six years of Trump on the national stage filled with spite and heartlessness, the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee did Trump “proud" in their questioning of Judge Jackson. The public hardly heard from her as senators mostly used their time to make partisan speeches, or “sound bites” for Fox News. -more-

It has appeared in many places, including in a song by famous rock performer Billy Joel, "You should never argue with a crazy man." This is a superlatively apt truism, even while some may find it an amusement. It is not amusing. When you argue with a psychotic person, you could be putting human lives at risk. And if you've been through such an experience, you are not alone. It is a mistake that some law enforcers seem to have made. When they yell orders at a psychotic person, they may get other than obedience, and this may lead to escalation. -more-

How I explained Ukraine to a longtime white Canadian friend of mine all ca ught up in, 'Zelensky all good, Putin all bad':

If the U.S. was "Shoog", & Russia was "Ray-Ray", & Ukraine was "L'il Dog", and Shoog & Ray-Ray were feudin', and Shoog & Ray-Ray wanted L'il Dog to side with one of them (Shoog or Ray-Ray). This is what my friend Kinn in the 'hood woulda told L'il Dog beforehand [like I told a Ukrainian female academic way before even Covid, except of course I told her in standard U.S. English]:

Loook..., both Shoog & Ray-Ray been feudin' for a lllongggg lllonggg tihhme... Ever since anyone from around here can remember... And I know each of them want you to be ōn they side... And I know you got a right to choose which side you wanna be ōnnn... -more-

Worth Noting:

City Council is on Spring Recess through April 11.

The meeting schedule for the coming week is relatively light with the Agenda Committee meeting Monday at 2:30 pm to review the draft agenda for the April 12, City Council meeting.

The Design Review Committee (Tuesday) and the Police Accountability Board (Wednesday) are both having special meetings.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Healthy Air for All – Time for Action at 4 – 5:30 pm

Pre-register for zoom link at https://tinyurl.com/38thxwn2

Agenda: UUCB Sponsored Workshop on Climate Change, Air Pollution, who is most vulnerable and what we can do about it. Speakers Dr. Teresa Munoz and Dr. Juan Aguilera Mendoza,

Berkeley Equity Summit Series #8 at 6 pm

Videoconference: https://bit.ly/3HSXMLD

Teleconference: 1-669-900-6833 ID: 832 1453 3420 Passcode: 712730

AGENDA: Women’s Herstory, Celebrate and Embrace Women’s Stories

Monday, March 28, 2022

Agenda and Rules Committee at 2:30 pm -more-

-more-

Coming on the heels of Jordi Savall’s concert on March 4 of French Baroque music from the film Tous les Matins du Monde, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra took the stage Saturday, March 12, at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church in a concert featuring more works from the court of Louis XIV at Versailles plus music by Henry Purcell and Tomaso Albinoni. Early music specialist Skip Sempé served as guest conductor for this concert, which was billed as “From Versailles to the English Court.” What struck me about Skip Sempé was his minimalist style of conducting. Often, especially when concertmaster Elizabeth Blumenstock engaged in solos or in extended passages wth violist Jessica Troy and cellist Phoebe Carral, Skip Sempé stood immobile at the podium. Then, when tutti passages resumed for the full ensemble, Sempé swung into motion, leading the attack with broad gestures. -more-

In the past six years, Céline Ricci has revived for Bay Area audiences Venetian Baroque operas that were long lost or neglected before she resuscitated them. Céline Ricci’s recent Ars Minerva production of Carlo Pallavicino’s 1679 opera Messalina was, as I said in opening my review, perhaps the most wild and crazy opera I’d ever seen. And that’s saying something! Yet Ars Minerva’s founder and artistic director, Céline Ricci, who staged this production of Messalina, brought off this wild and crazy opera splendidly. Somehow, she managed to hold together all the myriad convolutions of the plot of Messalina. Moreover, she also honoured the many ways this remarkable opera makes us think about important issues that are still with us today. So in the days and weeks following my review of Messalina, which appeared in the November 21, 2021 edition of Berkeley Daily Planet, I continued to think about Pallavicino’s Messalina. Here are some of my further reflections on this remarkable opera. -more-